If you reload, I think that will be dependent on the powder burn rate that you use..faster for shorter barrels, slower for longer ones...

If you are restricted to factory rounds, I would think that 20"-22" would be a possible minimum for efficiency, but that's just a guesstimate..

All my ARs in that caliber are now 16" barrels and I use a couple of pretty fast powders and am not bothered by much flash...

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It's a fine line between Hunting, and sitting in one spot looking Foolish...Life may not be the party you thought it would be,,,,But while we're here, we might as well Dance..

Instead of promoting Wealth Redistribution, let's promote the redistribution of the Work Ethic...

I think with an encore you can use a little longer barrel & still not be bad on over all gun length, because of the short breech/action. For the MI woods I like to stay at 22" or less with the average bolt action. If it was me I'd look at overall length & not go over 24" with your encore. The few times I carried a 24" bolt gun I thought it was longer than I cared for.

I've gone down to 20" with some of my favorites, classic compact 70, model 7, & a micro-hunter. These are guns you carry a lot & shoot little. Personal preference is a large factor.

wonder how much im losing using the 15 in encore pistol bbli reload using if i remember without checkin my book 26.5 grains of rl 15 under a 55 grain nosler ballistic tipthe guns is very accurate but i dunno about muzz flash as ive only shot it in bright sunny days

Much thanks! I want all I can get from the rifle, but no point dragging more than is needed.I bought a rifle someone else had built with a 30" barrel chamberd in 308. I had a smith shorten the barrel and it actually cronigraphed faster! extra barrel length actualy slowed it down w/factory loads.

once again much thanks.SSG RED

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practice does NOT make perfect..only permanentso practice doing it right!

Ballistically, I have no idea what is the ideal length in a 223. But for hunting and firing at coyotes, I have to admit my 24 inch Remmy 700 is by far the most pleasant to shoot. Getting that blast away from your ears a bit is a big plus to me.

No, I don't use earmuffs while hunting.

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" Life is just something that happens to me between coyote hunts" Sleddogg 2003

I recall from somewhere that a 20" barrel is generally considered optimum, but there's more to it than that, especially with a .223.

For some reason a .223 doesn't lose as much velocity with a shorter barrel as most centerfires, meaning you can go shorter (more inherently accurate) without losing much velocity. A 16" "M4 length" barrel still works pretty well for velocity, allows a larger diameter barrel within the same weight limitations (even more accuracy), easier handling in close quarters, etc, but it's loud...REALLY LOUD!!!.

Interestingly enough, ballistic tests of the 5.56/.223 have shown that (with some ammo) penetration and wound damage actually increases with a lower velocity.

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"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan.

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed-unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." James Madison